Several months ago I purchased a set of iGaging brand digital readouts to install on my Grizzly mill/drill a BF20L clone. I recently got around to installing them.
I was not impressed with the mounting hardware supplied so the first order of business was to design and fabricate what I think is an improved mounting system. My system is somewhat machine specific so it may not adapt well to other machines. These sketches show the mounts I am using.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/XAxisMount.png)
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/Y_ZMount.png)
Using pan head or button head screws the scales are clamped into the supports. The supports are designed to mount to the machine with one 10-32 or 5mm screw which reduces the number of tapped holes required in the machine. The one hole solution also helps in the alignment of the scale end to end.
The first scale installed was for the X axis. I used the existing dovetail nuts that had held the stops for the X axis to support the ends of the scale. The holes that had attached the fixed stop was used to attach the pickup head. This axis is the only one wherein the pickup head is stationary and the scale moves through it. The other two have fixed scales and moving pickup heads. As can be seen in the pictures the gib locks had to be extended to provide clearance for the scale. I used a couple of M6 X 50mm bolts that I cut the heads from and added over sized wing nuts to provide necessary torque when locking the gib. Not shown on the sketch for the X mount is the two tapped holes used for securing the cover. The hole can be seen in the picture. The cover/coolant guard is made from light weight ali angle. 1 X 1 X 1/16. It can be sealed with a strip of silicone caulking if swarf or coolant is a problem. The cover ends are mitered to reduce sharp corners. Here are the pictures of the X axis readout.
The DRO uncovered,
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3078.jpg)
The read head and the extended gib locks.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3079.jpg)
Picture showing the mount with a tapped hole for mounting the cover,
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3080.jpg)
The mitered corner.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3083.jpg)
Here is the guard installed.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3082.jpg)
Next came the Z axis readout. There was nothing special in mounting this one and swarf and coolant is not a problem in this area. Here it is securely attached to the column.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3084.jpg)
The Y axis was last and I got a couple of pictures of the mounting system before I bolted it onto the mill.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3077.jpg)
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3074.jpg)
And here it is tucked under the table.
![](http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/AlveyJoe/100_3085.jpg)
The only thing left to do is make a mount for the three displays and determine how best to route the connecting cables.
Joe